Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 256

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While I appreciate the No-Labels organization and their agenda as the National Strategic Agenda (for problem solving), in the end, politicians remain loyal to their party. Nonetheless, this is a good read.

The Senate’s delay of dealing with confirming a new Attorney General is the type of political theater I deplore. All presidential nominees should be acted upon, thus not treated as political footballs … and that’s regardless of the president’s party and the majority party in the Senate. If the senators are hiding behind Senate Rules, then I suggest changing the rules.

Welcome to another edition of It’s Time for Truth with Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Here’s the explanation from PolitiFact.

CruzSmallBiz

Wayne LaPierre is the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Given a high position in many other organizations (if not most), remarks like he makes would have gotten him fired.

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame recently inducted new members. Joan Jett before the Moody Blues? Joan Jett before Yes? That organization has no credibility – None, nada, zilch, zero. Their credibility level is near that of Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and Congress … and that’s not good company.

I had a lousy week of visiting your blogs. 😦

Our energy provider recently sent us this graph regarding energy use.

EnergyUse1year

Meals: The Musical is scheduled to return next week, which means I will announce Act 3’s theme on the next Monday Morning Entertainment.

No Saturday Morning Cartoons this weekend, but Saturday will bring a new Explore post.

Milestone alert – Approaching a quarter of a million hits, thus should surpass next week.

Body cameras on police is getting a lot of attention. To lead you into it’s headlines, The Onion offers a list of pros and cons regarding this issue.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Medical experts disappointed in man who failed to live up to life expectancy
Lethal injection least effective drug man took while in prison
Hand gestures transform friend’s story into immersive virtual reality experience
Relationship reaches point where breaking up, getting married would be equally huge hassle
Lovestruck Arabian princess begs father to spare John Kerry’s life

Interesting Reads
Columnist Dana Milbank on partisanship, the elected, and the electorate
Redefining India’s textile heritage
World War I Anzaks (and Anzak Day is Saturday)
How an octopus is coordinated
A short web & digital technology quiz from Pew Research Center

Your Weekend Celebrations
(Fri) Hairball Awareness Day, Satchmo Days, Meningitis Day, Arbor Day, Pigs in a Blanket Day, New Kids on the Block Day, Teach Your Children to Save Day, Puppetry Day, Sylvester the Cat’s Birthday, Natasha’s (Sesame Street) Birthday
(Sat) Anzac Day, DNA Day, Dance Day, Hug a Plumber Day, Bob Wills Day, Eeyore’s Birthday, Hairstylists Appreciation Day, Marconi Day, License Plates Day, Malaria Awareness Day, Go Birding Day, Herb Day, Penguin Day, Red Hat Society Day, Rebuilding Day, Save the Frogs Day, Sense of Smell Day, Spring Astronomy Day, World Day for Animals in Laboratories, World Healing Day, Veterinary Day, Tai Chi & Qigong Day, Telephone Day, Kiss of Hope Day, East Meets West Day
(Sun) Hug an Australian Day, Photography Day, Static Cling Day, Hug a Friend Day, Help a Horse Day, Audubon Day, Mother-Father-Deaf Day, Kids & Pets Day, Pretzel Day, Pet Parent’s Day, Richter Scale Day, Intellectual Property Day

There should be any doubt why these songs will send you into the weekend, Have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 217

On Politics
My state (Ohio) is one of 15 states with a law against false political statements. Challenge to the law has reached the US Supreme Court has some interesting situations, such as Ohio’s Solicitor General arguing for the law that his boss (State Attorney General) wrote a letter about the law being unconstitutional. Given the high court’s rulings of money is a form of speech, I can see a ruling opening up the vaults for more deception – but time will tell. Here’s a story about the case from respected court writer Lyle Denniston, plus a synopsis with additional resources about the case.

Although I think columnist Charles Krauthhammer is a conservative crank, I enjoyed this column about campaign finance.

Here’s an interesting timeline with various milestones about bipartisan efforts.

On This Week’s Headlines from The Onion
Gas station clerk glad to see Pump 2 doing so well today
Fisher-Price designer would like to see 2-year-old try and choke on newest version
White male privilege squandered on job at Best Buy
Casinos getting people to play longer by telling them civilization destroyed
Man with no plans too exhausted to go out
Baseball catcher keeps signalling “I love you”

Interesting Reads
One person’s opinion on the next Ukraine
Surprise birth of the scientific method
Vietnam War Maps
Animated map about the North Africa campaign WW II
Book review about John Wayne

On Potpourri
I tried not to focus on the stats, but I can’t help noticing that the numbers here are tanking to pathetic levels. Is anyone else experience this?

Earlier this week I mentioned the weight of handbells. Think of handbells like a piano key, that is each bell is a single note. Here’s a link showing the weight and diameter of each bell by different manufacturers. You will notice that the larger bells can be aluminum or brass. (For non-US readers, 1 ounce= 28.4 grams, 1 pound (lb) = 454 g, and 1 inch = 2.54 cm)

If all goes as planned, Life: The Musical returns next week. I will announce Act 3’s theme on the upcoming Monday Morning Entertainment. Curtain time will be Wednesday, 9:30 PM (US Eastern)

A Saturday Morning Cartoon Classic is on the docket for tomorrow.

Here are your weekend celebrations

  • (Weekend) Satchmo Days, Fiddler’s Frolic, Nation’s Powwow, Interstate Mullet Toss, Mariachi Days, Pie Championships
  • (Fri) DNA Day, Plumbers Day, Malaria Awareness Day, Red Hat Society Day, Penguin Day, Zucchini Bread Day
  • (Sat) Arbor Day, Audubon Day, Do-Dah Day, Bob Wills Day, Eeyore’s Day, Hug an Australian Day, Dance Day, Go Birding Day, Animals in the Laboratory Day, Hairball Awareness Day, Help a Horse Day, Herb Day, Kids-and-Pets Day, Rebuilding Day, Pretzel Day, Intellectual Property Day, Richter Scale Day, Save the Frogs Day, Sense of Smell Day, Healing Day
  • (Sun) Babe Ruth Day, Mantanzas Mule Day, Morse Code Day, Mother-Father Deaf Day, Pinhole Photography Day, Morse Code Day, Prime Rib Day

To send you into the weekend, here’s a flashback to 1971 with headliners Blood, Sweat, and Tears and their hit Lucretia Mac Evil. Enjoy, have a safe weekend and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.